Big 12 roundup: Oklahoma State survives Iowa State to improve to 10-0

Backup quarterback J.W. Walsh threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Carr with 3:06 left Saturday, giving No. 5 Oklahoma State a 35-31 victory over Iowa State and keeping the unbeaten Cowboys in playoff contention.

Oklahoma State (10-0, 7-0 Big 12) trailed 24-7 and 31-21 before rallying for a victory that was short on style points but still critical.

Walsh drew the Cowboys to 31-28 with a 16-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and OSU drove 84 yards in 11 plays for the winning score after forcing a punt.

Starter Mason Rudolph got Oklahoma State to the Iowa State 7 and Walsh, usually the team’s running quarterback, took it from there. He hit Carr with a swing pass on the left side and two blocks sprung the freshman to the end zone.

Quarterback Joel Lanning had staked Iowa State (3-7, 2-5) to the lead, running for two touchdowns and passing for another. He and the Cyclones had two chances after Carr’s score, but gave up the ball on downs and then turned it over when free safety and Steele product Jordan Sterns picked him off after getting it back.

The two teams met in a setting similar to 2011, when an unheralded Iowa State team ended No. 2 Oklahoma State’s BCS championship hopes with a victory in two overtimes. On a pleasant, late autumn day, the Cowboys survived in this one, though for the longest time, things were looking grim for coach Mike Gundy’s team, mostly because of Lanning.

(13) TCU 23, Kansas 17: In Fort Worth, Trevone Boykin left with a right ankle injury, and the Horned Frogs did just enough without its Heisman Trophy candidate to hold off winless Kansas. On his second play of the game, Boykin turned awkwardly on his right ankle as he slipped while trying to cut and was tackled by linebacker Joe Dineen Jr. The nation’s total offense leader didn’t return after getting sacked on TCU’s last offensive play of the first quarter. The Horned Frogs (9-1, 6-1 Big 12, No. 15 CFP) played mostly without Boykin and one of the country’s top receivers in Josh Doctson, who was limited by a left arm and wrist injury from last week’s loss that likely eliminated them from the national title race. The Jayhawks (0-10, 0-7) didn’t trail at halftime for the first time this year, but couldn’t avoid their 35th straight road loss and 13th overall.

Texas Tech 59, Kansas State 45: In Lubbock, Patrick Mahomes threw for 384 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Steele product Justin Stockton, and DeAndre Washington rushed for three more as the Red Raiders (6-5, 3-5) snapped a three-game losing skid and became bowl eligible. The loss extended the Wildcats’ winless streak to six, a first since 1989. Joe Hubener rushed for three 1-yard touchdowns and threw for two more for Kansas State (3-6, 0-6).